Pirates prepared for quiet stadium

By David Hall / Staff Writer

Published: Saturday, October 20, 2012 at 01:05 AM.

UAB, which fell 39-17 at Houston last week, employs a two-quarterback system. Redshirt freshman Austin Brown has passed for 1,130 yards and five touchdowns, while junior Jonathan Perry has added 726 yards and four scores.

The Blazers have shown a tendency to start well and fizzle, finishing only an easy 52-3 win over Southeastern Louisiana on Oct. 6. McGee, who took over at UAB after four years on the offensive staff at Arkansas, promised change.

“I’ve watched us lose five games the same exact way,” he said. “We compete in the first half. We get the game in the third quarter with an opportunity to win and we end up collapsing. I’ve seen that happen five times in a row. I’m not interested in doing the same exact things and getting the same exact results.”

Third-year ECU head coach Ruffin McNeill called McGee “a great addition to our conference” and “a real class act,” adding, like Carden, that the Blazers are not to be overlooked.

“Their record may not show it,” McNeill said, “but they do a good job.”

Former West Craven High School standout Justin Hardy, a sophomore inside receiver who caught six passes for a career-high 137 yards and two touchdowns last week, said it’s time for the Pirates to keep things rolling in the right direction.

“We need to break that little streak that we’ve got, winning a game and then losing one,” he said. “This week would be a good week to do it.”

GREENVILLE — East Carolina’s football team shouldn’t have any trouble motivating itself today at Alabama-Birmingham.

The Pirates just know that they shouldn’t expect any external help.

ECU (4-3, 3-1 Conference USA) visits the deceptively dangerous Blazers at 7 p.m. with hopes of maintaining a hold on second place in the league’s East Division.

UAB’s Legion Field, the 85-year-old home to a notoriously dull environment, has seen an average of just 17,738 fans over the past five seasons. In a stadium that seats more than 71,000, the crowds tend to offer all the atmosphere of a game of solitaire.

“We understand that a lot of these games are not going to be like our home stadium,” Pirates quarterback Shane Carden said, referring to a home field that’s drawn a league-leading average of 47,326 this season. “They’re not going to be as wild, they’re not going to be as crazy.”

But the game, ECU’s players also understand, will be no less important.

In addition to offering an opportunity to edge closer to bowl eligibility, it’s a chance to halt a frustrating trend. Starting with a season-opening win over Appalachian State, the Pirates have managed to win every other game.

Putting a positive streak together as the rows shorten would go a long way toward facilitating a trip to the postseason for the first time in two years.

“It’s actually something we’ve talked about,” said sophomore linebacker and leading tackler Jeremy Grove, who has 51 stops this season. “We want to get a back-to-back win here and get this thing rolling and win this thing out.”

The Blazers (1-5, 0-2) sit tied with Southern Miss for last place in the division. But consecutive 49-6 and 29-15 losses at national powers South Carolina and Ohio State, respectively, make them difficult to gauge.

Under first-year coach Garrick McGee, UAB is averaging 26.8 points and 392.2 yard per game in a spread offense.

But they’re allowing 411.7 total yards per game, a fact that hasn’t eased any minds at ECU.

“A dumb team would overlook these guys, look at their record and think that they’re not going to be a good ball team,” said Carden, who passed for a career-high 308 yards in last week’s 41-7 win over Memphis, the fifth start of his career. “We can’t do that. We can’t overlook these guys. They’re a good team. If we didn’t know their record, on film, I would not guess it’s 1-5.”

UAB, which fell 39-17 at Houston last week, employs a two-quarterback system. Redshirt freshman Austin Brown has passed for 1,130 yards and five touchdowns, while junior Jonathan Perry has added 726 yards and four scores.

The Blazers have shown a tendency to start well and fizzle, finishing only an easy 52-3 win over Southeastern Louisiana on Oct. 6. McGee, who took over at UAB after four years on the offensive staff at Arkansas, promised change.

“I’ve watched us lose five games the same exact way,” he said. “We compete in the first half. We get the game in the third quarter with an opportunity to win and we end up collapsing. I’ve seen that happen five times in a row. I’m not interested in doing the same exact things and getting the same exact results.”

Third-year ECU head coach Ruffin McNeill called McGee “a great addition to our conference” and “a real class act,” adding, like Carden, that the Blazers are not to be overlooked.

“Their record may not show it,” McNeill said, “but they do a good job.”

Former West Craven High School standout Justin Hardy, a sophomore inside receiver who caught six passes for a career-high 137 yards and two touchdowns last week, said it’s time for the Pirates to keep things rolling in the right direction.

“We need to break that little streak that we’ve got, winning a game and then losing one,” he said. “This week would be a good week to do it.”

Justin Jones, an emerging junior receiver, said small crowds on the road prevent him from taking the raucous home gatherings for granted.

“It’s special, man,” Jones said. “You go to these schools like UAB and Memphis and there’s nobody in the stands. Personally, I don’t know what would be the fun part about playing football for a place like that. The fans make the total difference.”

NOTES: The Pirates lead the series 7-4, including five straight wins. ... ECU center Taylor Hudson (back) was listed as doubtful late this week. His absence would break a streak of starting the same five players on the offensive line every game this season. ... The Blazers are averaging 19,340 fans at home this season. They played before 105,019 at Ohio State on Sept. 22.

David Hall can be reached at (252) 559-1086 or at david.hall@kinston.com.

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East Carolina at Alabama-Birmingham

Legion Field

Birmingham, Ala.

Today, 7 p.m.

On TV: FCSN, WITN TV-7

On the radio: 107.9 WNCT

Online: ecupirates.com (All-Access)

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How they match up

ECU UAB

Points per game 23.4 26.8

Opp. PPG 23.9 34.7

Rushing yards per game 103.7 82.8

Passing YPG 247.7 309.3

Keys to the game: ECU, a 2 1/2-point favorite, will rely on its youthful secondary to stop the Blazers’ active passing attack. The Pirates, who have bolted to 14-0 leads in their past two games, need another fast start.